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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Tuesday Tutorial: Rolled Paper Potpourri Bowl

Hello and welcome to today's blog where I will be sharing a little project that will have your room smelling sweetly in no-time. Potpourri is one of those items that I love to have scattered around the house to give a gentle hint of fragrance without being too overpowering and driving everybody outside. However, finding a nice little bowl for each room can sometimes be a difficult task as they keep disappearing for other more important' purposes, so I'm told :)

I certainly won't lay claim to the actual rolled paper technique but it has been something I've wanted to try for quite some time and possibly something I won't be doing again in a hurry LOL! I won't try and sugar-coat the process... it takes a long time, but it really is well worth the effort and very rewarding once you've finished. Also, you don't have to limit yourself to a bowl shape or the use of potpourri... the possibilities are endless!

Using various designs of cardstock, score the entire length of the sheet at 5mm intervals.

Step 2:

To make the strips, cut through every second scored fold leaving a score-line down the centre of each strip.

Step 3:

Fold each strip in half down the score-line. You will need quite a few strips as a small bowl used approximately 120.

Step 4:

Curl each strip into a spiral using a quilling tool or flower roller and let unravel slightly, set aside. You won't know what size rolls you need until you start building your bowl so it's best to cut them when needed or join the strips together to make larger rolls.

Step 5:

You will need a small bowl for your shape. You can now tightly re-roll your first strip and glue the end using a hot-glue gun and place in the bottom of the bowl with the folded edge facing down ie. the raw ends facing inwards. Re-roll your next strip and hot glue to the first roll, continue this process using different sized rolls to fit neatly into the shape. It's a long and tedious process but worth the effort in the end. I left the top of my bowl fairly random in heights as I didn't want a neatly finished effect, but that's your own personal choice.

Step 6:

I added a few flowers, butterflies, leaves and jewels to the front and top edge of the bowl using the icons card stock stickers. A little hint when using the leaves or anything that you want to bend into shape - adhere them to a thick clear acetate so they are easily manipulated into the perfect shape and also have a good service to add a dob of hot glue rather than tryig to glue each individual little piece.

Step 7:
You can use your little bowl for just about anything that isn't in liquid form. They would look really cute filled with chocolates or sweets. However, if you use it for potpourri, nuts or anything that has an oil content you will need to cover the bowl in Mod Podge or a similar food tolerant sealant as the oil will leach into the paper and make a mess of all your hard work.

And there you have it... a fun little bowl that will become a talking point with those that see it!

CONGRATS goes out to Melinda who delivered a new baby just last week (details coming soon)!!